Instructions Following Oral Surgery

Today we performed an outpatient surgical procedure for you in the clinic. Following our
instructions carefully will allow you to heal as quickly as possible with the minimum risk of
complications.

A small amount of bleeding is normal over the next day or two. If it is bleeding more than a few drops, the way to make it stop is with pressure onto the site. We will likely send you home with some gauze to bite on for the next ten to fifteen minutes. If it starts to bleed again later, sit down, relax and bite on extra gauze, a washcloth, or a wad of tissues and it
will stop by itself.

A small amount of discomfort is normal Typically the surgical site will be the most sore right

when the freezing first comes out. For this particular surgery we recommend: – taking an aspirin (ASA), Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (ibuprofen); whatever you might take for a headache. This should be all you will require, or -we have given you a prescription for a pain reliever. Please take the medication as necessary, do not exceed the maximum on the bottle.

A small amount of swelling is normal and is part of healing. If bone removal was required as part of the surgery, you will likely see more swelling and possibly bruising. You can limit swelling by using cold compresses (such as a bag of frozen vegetables) fifteen minutes on and fifteen minutes off when the freezing is coming out.

Leave the surgical site alone In the surgical site, especially if it is an extracted tooth socket, a blood clot will form. This blood clot important for the healing process and dislodging it will make the site take longer to heal and usually be quite sore. Therefore it is important to leave the site alone. For the rest of the day, avoid chewing on the area, rinsing vigorously, sucking on the area or rinsing with anything hot. Especially avoid smoking, which is very damaging to the blood clot. If you can leave the surgical area alone for the rest of the day, you will avoid the majority of potential post-surgical problems. If sutures (stitches) were placed, your tongue will want to play with them, but again, please leave them alone. They are either: -dissolving stitches that will fall out by themselves in several days, or silk stitches- you will need an appointment to have these removed, or -no stitches were requires in this case.

Take it easy and look after yourself during healing Over the next week or so your body will be working hard to repair the area of the surgery. Get plenty of rest and eat well. If we have prescribed you an antibiotic or post-surgical vitamin supplement, make sure that you take the pills faithfully until they are all gone. And avoid smoking, which can make it take up to twice as long for the site to heal.

We expect you to heal normally and without complications. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our office. As always we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to provide you with the best care available today.